The Media

[pixel]

News of the disgusting Mitchell Pearce is all over the ABC this morning.

Is this the sort of thing we need to have breakfast with ?

Just fine or suspend the bloke and get if out of our faces please.

Doesn't your TV set have an Off button?
(Not that switching channels would make a big difference...)

 

[SirRumpole]

Doesn't your TV set have an Off button?
(Not that switching channels would make a big difference...)

Yes it does and I've used it.

"don't look if you don't like it" seems a cop out instead of criticising the cr@p stuff that the media try to stuff down our throats.

If the media thinks that the public like cr@p they will continue broadcasting it.

 

[McLovin]

If the media thinks that the public like cr@p they will continue broadcasting it.

They would infer from you not switching it off that you like their cr@p.

 

[SirRumpole]

They would infer from you not switching it off that you like their cr@p.

Are they able to continuously monitor my Off button ?

 

[Wysiwyg]

News = sensation, death, destruction, violence, controversy, stupidity etc. People love that sought of stuff because it is out there from a usual or mundane life. Something to talk (post, tweet, facebook etc. these days) about as was done here and of which I joined in.
:iamwithst

 

[Tink]

Fairfax Media has confirmed it is in talks with a private equity consortium.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-...with-tpg-over-partial-buyout-proposal/8504898

 

[Tisme]

Please understand the workday of the average "journalist": They start their day looking for outrage and if they find it, naturally they're miserable. If they don't find it, they're still miserable. What a life!!

Mark Latham 17/12/2017

 

[sptrawler]

To me this problem highlights the issues the media have, they appear to be just grabbing any snippet of news to make headlines.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...ve-climate-change-policy-20200114-p53raa.html

From the article:
The nation's top business lobbying group is facing pressure to commit to a more progressive climate change stance, with rich lister and Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes labelling the organisation as "regressive".

So one person makes a comment and it becomes headline worthy? Is there any wonder circulation is falling, unless you are an absolute cult follower of their agenda, there really isn't much point in spending your money. IMO

While on the subject of media, the coverage of the bushfires has been very comprehensive and probably beneficial.
I wonder how many people have decided to cancel their visit the East Coast?Because it sounds as though 90% of it, has burnt to the ground and the remainder is still on fire.

 

[Smurf1976]

I'll point out the problem with mainstream media by saying that Will Hodgman, Premier of Tasmania, resigned this afternoon. The announcement was a surprise not expected by most etc.

Now news.com.au has the story a fair way down the page after one about a hotel in San Francisco charging $43 for breakfast, someone missing out on a US holiday and someone else who's date went wrong.

Now OK, Tasmania has just ~2% of the national population so the state's premier resigning isn't exactly the biggest news item in the world right now but from an Australian perspective the resignation of any state's premier is at least more significant than someone handing a hotel on the other side of the world $43.

Likewise many other "serious" news stories are similarly well down the list after trivialities.

It would be a mistake to think that reading the headlines or leading stories will tell you the actually important news. In reality it'll more likely tell you what product Kmart are trying to clear out at the moment and what Sophie Monk ate for lunch yesterday.

 

[sptrawler]

While on the subject of media, the coverage of the bushfires has been very comprehensive and probably beneficial.
I wonder how many people have decided to cancel their visit the East Coast?Because it sounds as though 90% of it, has burnt to the ground and the remainder is still on fire.

Oh well I posted this on Tuesday and get my answer on Thursday, that isn't bad.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...ns-cancel-their-holidays-20200115-p53rr1.html

From the article:
Tourists are abandoning regional Victoria and NSW in droves, with cancellation rates of more than 60 per cent even in towns outside the bushfire zones causing economic damage of up to $1 billion.

The vast majority of cancellations come from Australians choosing to stay home, leaving industry experts to call for new campaigns urging people to get back out and spend money on their holidays.
Reports to the Australian Tourism Industry Council reveal cancelled bookings in some areas unaffected by the bushfires have hit more than 60 per cent.
In areas directly hit by bushfires, cancellations in some areas have hit almost 100 per cent.

I guess that is the down side of thrashing a story to death.

 

[SirRumpole]

Oh well I posted this on Tuesday and get my answer on Thursday, that isn't bad.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...ns-cancel-their-holidays-20200115-p53rr1.html

From the article:
Tourists are abandoning regional Victoria and NSW in droves, with cancellation rates of more than 60 per cent even in towns outside the bushfire zones causing economic damage of up to $1 billion.

The vast majority of cancellations come from Australians choosing to stay home, leaving industry experts to call for new campaigns urging people to get back out and spend money on their holidays.

I guess that is the down side of thrashing a story to death.

People are being told by police and fire authorities to get out and business are telling them to come back !

No wonder there are a lot of confused people around.

 

[sptrawler]

People are being told by police and fire authorities to get out and business are telling them to come back !

No wonder there are a lot of confused people around.

The media is overdoing it as usual, once they have a story, they don't let it go.
Like I said, the perception from the media, is that 90% has been burnt and the remainder is still an out of control inferno.

 

[sptrawler]

Well now Trump has been put to bed, let's get back to a bit of trail by media. ?
Headline:
Ben Roberts-Smith pictured cheering soldiers drinking from a prosthetic leg of a man he shot.
The article goes on to say, it is under investigation, so did he shoot the militant or is it still being investigated?

Ben Roberts-Smith pictured cheering soldiers drinking from the prosthetic leg of a man he shot

The Victoria Cross recipient is facing a number of war crimes inquiries, including allegations he executed an unarmed Afghan militant wearing the plastic leg in an operation in Kakarak, southern Afghanistan.

www.theage.com.au

From the article:
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith was photographed cheering on an American soldier drinking from the prosthetic leg of a suspected Afghan militant whose death is now the subject of a war crimes investigation into the war hero.
Mr McClintock also told the Federal Court Mr Roberts-Smith had been the one who had killed the disabled Afghan militant, saying he was a member of the Taliban. That killing is suspected by police to be an execution and is now the subject of an Australian Federal Police war crimes inquiry and a preliminary prosecution brief of evidence.

 

[wayneL]

Well now Trump has been put to bed, let's get back to a bit of trail by media. ?

Ben Roberts-Smith pictured cheering soldiers drinking from the prosthetic leg of a man he shot

The Victoria Cross recipient is facing a number of war crimes inquiries, including allegations he executed an unarmed Afghan militant wearing the plastic leg in an operation in Kakarak, southern Afghanistan.

www.theage.com.au

Yep, Trump having the election stolen from him is a disaster for the mainstream media. Trump was actually a cash cow for them.

Now what are they going to do... the only way is to try to manufacture some more villains.

Ideology prevents them from picking the low hanging fruit, so they will have to somehow vilify heroes and productive members of our society.

 

[sptrawler]

Yep, Trump having the election stolen from him is a disaster for the mainstream media. Trump was actually a cash cow for them.

Now what are they going to do... the only way is to try to manufacture some more villains.

Ideology prevents them from picking the low hanging fruit, so they will have to somehow vilify heroes and productive members of our society.

Yes the copy and paste period for them has ended, lucky that they focus newspapers at grade three reading level, should resonate with the muppets.

 

[sptrawler]

Yep, Trump having the election stolen from him is a disaster for the mainstream media. Trump was actually a cash cow for them.

Now what are they going to do... the only way is to try to manufacture some more villains.

Ideology prevents them from picking the low hanging fruit, so they will have to somehow vilify heroes and productive members of our society.

First things first, I detest war, I think the politicians and generals should be at the front line and the soldiers sit in grandstands and score them for effort.
Having said that and getting onto this Ben Roberts- Smith issue.
What I have trouble reconciling is, what is the difference when a soldier who is fighting an enemy, that doesn't wear a uniform kills someone who turns out to be unarmed.
Or a person in a Donga thousands of miles away, letting rip with a missile from a drone, to take out an individual and possibly many more nearby?
Or people in an airplane, dropping a bomb or bombs that could take out unarmed innocent civilians, who decides where the line of decency and righteousness is drawn.
Just my thoughts?

 

[SirRumpole]

who decides where the line of decency is drawn.

It comes down to the officers on the line imo.

I'm not saying its an easy job, but you expect officers to be able to make command decisions under pressure, it's what they are trained for.

There are some (a very few) soldiers on the front line in any army who are there because they enjoy killing people.

They sign up for combat units and volunteer for tours in combat locations as much as they can. Where normal people might balk at killing someone even in battle, these people don't think twice, they charge in and get the job done, which is why the army likes them in certain situations, but it's up to their commanders to keep them in a box untill needed. That may not be easy in some circumstances, but hopefully the investigation won't just blame the people who did the killing but their commanders as well.

 

[sptrawler]

It comes down to the officers on the line imo.

I'm not saying its an easy job, but you expect officers to be able to make command decisions under pressure, it's what they are trained for.

There are some (a very few) soldiers on the front line in any army who are there because they enjoy killing people.

They sign up for combat units and volunteer for tours in combat locations as much as they can. Where normal people might balk at killing someone even in battle, these people don't think twice, they charge in and get the job done, which is why the army likes them in certain situations, but it's up to their commanders to keep them in a box untill needed. That may not be easy in some circumstances, but hopefully the investigation won't just blame the people who did the killing but their commanders as well.

But then that same officer may have to call in an air or artillery strike on a village, that still has civilians present, or the officer may have to condone a drone strike where the target is worth the collateral damage.
If the strike misses, who is the war criminal? Innocent people get killed, only some are held accountable, weird IMO.

 

[wayneL]

First things first, I detest war, I think the politicians and generals should be at the front line and the soldiers sit in grandstands and score them for effort.
Having said that and getting onto this Ben Roberts- Smith issue.
What I have trouble reconciling is, what is the difference when a soldier who is fighting an enemy, that doesn't wear a uniform kills someone who turns out to be unarmed.
Or a person in a Donga thousands of miles away, letting rip with a missile from a drone, to take out an individual and possibly many more nearby?
Or people in an airplane, dropping a bomb or bombs that could take out unarmed innocent civilians, who decides where the line of decency and righteousness is drawn.
Just my thoughts?

Exactly, by it's very nature war is ugly.

how can we train a normal human being to go and kill other human beings without dehumanising the purported enemy?

While there is a line beetween the rules of engagement and atrocity... somewhere... The incontrovertible fact is that we're giving licence to our people to go and take other people's lives.

There is a reason why PTSD is absolutely rampant in our ex-servicemen.... In fact I was listening to a podcast iPhone x special forces dude hand and his opinion it would be impossible to not have some form of PTSD.

It is easy to set in the relative safety of our homes and sit in judgement of the actions of our people in a theatre of war.

A look at myself and wonder what would I be like, what would I do in those situations, what would be my reactions?

I thank God that I haven't had to.

But after 60 years I have really attempted to know myself.... And to be honest I couldn't honestly say what my reactions would actually be. In equal measure I can see that perhaps I may have been capable of committing an atrocity, but also may have stood up and said no I cannot fulfill my orders.

... this, after many many hours of discussion with family members and friends who have been in this situation.

Going back a few years, where the pilots and bombaderes involved in the London blitz war criminals?

Were our pilots who bombed German cities, especially Dresden, war criminals?

I have 100 questions about such incidences and every side could point to a Million different incidences where human dignity has been removed.

And here we are splitting hairs over relatively minor incidences.

Just another example of self sabotage and as I read these forums and the opinions people have, I've become ever more convinces that we are screwed...

... Not from China or any other adversary, but because of ourselves.

 

[SirRumpole]

If the strike misses, who is the war criminal? Innocent people get killed, only some are held accountable, weird IMO.

Or even if it hits. Hiroshima, Nagasaki ?

Of course the justification was that those strikes saved more lives that they cost, but we'll never know will we, and the victors certainly didn't hold an inquiry into their own decisions.